Sioux Mythology (Lakota-Dakota-Nakota)

The Mythology Sioux brings together the Native American peoples of the Sioux Confederacy: Lakota, Nakota, Dakota, Assiniboin

The name "Sioux" is used to indicate a specific group of tribes, culturally and linguistically very close: Lakotas, Nakotas and Dakotas, names which all mean "allies". The Sioux call each other " Oceti sakowin oyate ", "the People of the Seven Fires" or "the Council of the Seven Fires", in reference to their original seven political divisions.

The Dakotas or Isantis, anglicized to Santee (traditional territory in Minnesota) include:

• Sisseton
• Wahpetons
• Wahpekutes
• Mdewakantons (“They inhabit the sacred lake”). Spirit Lake tribe (Devil's Lake Reservation – North Dakota), Shakopee-Mdewankanton Reservation (Minnesota) and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (Flandreau Reservation – South Dakota);

The Nakota or Ihanktuns (“village at the end”) or Yankton in English (national territory in the Dakotas) include (or included):

• Yanktons "Iyanktonwan" ("They live at the end")
• Yanktonnais "Iyanktonwanna" ("The little Yankton")

The Lakota or Titunwans (“prairie people”) or Tetons in English (traditional Dakota/Wyoming territory) was originally one of the seven council fires, but later split into xviii^e century, after their emigration to the great plains, in seven groups:

• Hunkpapas (“They camp at the entrance”). Their greatest leaders are Sitting Bull and Gall.
• Oglalas (“They disperse”). They included chiefs Red Cloud and Crazy Horse as well as medicine man Black Elk.
• Sicangu (“Burned thighs” or “burned”). Chief Spotted Tail was one of them.
• Minneconjous “Mnikwojupi” (“They plant near water”). Chief Big Foot is infamous because it was his band that was slaughtered in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
• Itazipacolas ("Sans-Arcs").
• Oohenunpas ("Twice boiled" or "Two cauldrons"), Two Kettles in English.
• Sihasapa, ("Blackfoot"), called Blackfoot Sioux in English, not to be confused with the Algonquin people of the Blackfoot).

The Assiniboins were originally part of the Hunkpatina-Yanktonnais, but later broke away from their original people to move to the Canadian regions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where they kept their Nakota idiom and entered a state of permanent war with all the rest of the old Sioux confederation, rightly earning the name of Hohes (rebels); they can be classified as follows:

• Assiniboine;
• Stoneys.